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The AAP recommends exclusive breast-feeding for about the first six months of life, but CDC researchers found that 40% of 1,334 mothers said they started introducing solid food to their babies before they were 4 months old. The researchers found that formula-fed babies were twice as likely as breast-fed babies to be given solids early. Almost 90% of mothers who introduced solids early said they thought their babies were old enough to eat such food, according to the study in the journal Pediatrics.

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Preterm babies who were breast-fed had 10% larger ventricles, stronger heartbeats and significantly less reduced heart function in adulthood, compared with those who were only formula-fed, according to a study in Pediatrics. The findings, based on data from a randomized controlled trial involving 102 premature infants followed through adulthood, also showed better heart structure and function among those who were fed a combination of breast milk and formula, compared with those who received only formula

Researchers at Dartmouth College found urinary arsenic levels were higher among formula-fed babies than those who were breast-fed. The authors said that arsenic can be found in well water and that it was not clear whether the levels found in the study would be harmful. The findings were reported in Environmental Health Perspectives.

Babies who were bottle-fed had at least a twofold increased risk of developing a stomach obstruction called hypertrophic pyloric stenosis compared with breast-fed babies, a study in the journal JAMA Pediatrics showed. Researchers also found that risk increased as maternal age increased, with babies whose mothers were older than 35 being five to six times more likely to develop pyloric stenosis.

Formula-fed babies were more than twice as likely to become obese compared with those who were breast-fed for the first six months, a study in Pediatric Obesity revealed. Researchers also found that certain habits, such as bottle feeding at bedtime and introducing solid foods before 4 months, may increase obesity risk by 36% and 40%, respectively.

Breast-fed babies at age 3 months showed greater distress and had a tendency to smile and laugh less than formula-fed babies, according to a study in the journal Public Library of Science ONE. Researchers assessed the temperament of 316 babies and found that those who were breast-fed or mixed-fed were more difficult to manage and soothe compared with bottle-fed babies, but they encouraged breast-feeding mothers to persevere.